Mike Tyson made official offer for stunning comeback fight with MMA legend after Jake Paul loss

Mike Tyson has been approached by Kazakh combat sports promotion, Alash Pride League (APL), to make another comeback fight.

The 58-year-old ended a 19-year retirement to face YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in a money-spinning professional boxing bout last November on Netflix.

Tyson earned $20million for his efforts but looked like a shadow of his former self as he laboured to a wide unanimous decision loss at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

In the immediate aftermath, Tyson refused to rule out a return to the ring, prompting APL to swoop in with an offer to fight on one of their winter events against MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko.

Addressing the media in Astana, Kazakhstan this week, APL President, Alimzhan Bektaev, said: "We are planning a bout between Mike Tyson and Fedor Emelianenko.

"Work in this direction is already underway...

“The tournament, where we want to invite Mike Tyson, is scheduled for December."

Emelianenko, now aged 48, is one of the greatest MMA fighters to ever grace the cage.

The Russian superstar is a former long-reigning PRIDE heavyweight title holder and four-time combat sambo world champion.

During an illustrious MMA career stretching back to 2000, he defeated fellow all-time greats Mirko Cro Cop, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mark Coleman, and Andrei Arlovski.

He was widely considered to be the pound-for-pound best MMA fighter on the planet during the mid to late 2000s and strung together a legendary 27-fight winning streak in this period.

Emelianenko eventually hung up his gloves in February 2023 following a first-round TKO loss to Ryan Bader at Bellator 290 with an impressive 40-7 record.

The APL did not specify which rule set they intend to stage the crossover clash under.

However, it would almost certainly take place in boxing.

It remains to be seen whether Tyson would entertain such a contest, although 'The Last Emperor' has previously expressed interest in sharing the ring with 'Iron Mike'.

Speaking during an appearance on the Ariel Helwani show back in 2023, shortly after his retirement from MMA, Emelianenko said: "MMA is done 100 per cent, I am not going to go back to MMA.

"I want to try my hand at boxing, I think it will be interesting...

"I watched the fight between Roy Jones and Mike Tyson, I would like to fight him. He has a big name, and he is a legend."